Basket truck



L. B. HAYES AND V. W. KEMP.

BASKET TRUCK. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2, 192i.

Pdtentedl Aug. 8, 1922. r

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

awueutoz I L. B. HAYES AND v. w. KEMP.-

BASKET TRUCK.- APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2, 1921.

1 ,424,8 1 9, I 1 Patented 8 1922.

STATES BASKET TRUCK.

insists.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Au". 1922.

Application filed March 2, 1921. Serial No. 449,114.

To (6Z5 whom it may concern Be it known that we, Lian B. HAYns and FERN TV. KEMP, citizens of the United States, residing at Paonia, in the county of Delta and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Basket Trucks, of which the following is a specification. 9

Our invention is a truck for handling baskets or other circular containers employed for packing produce and has for its object the provision of inexpensive and efficient means whereby a stack of containers may be moved without injury to the containers or their contents. is further object of the invention is to provide simple and eflicient means whereby a stack of containers may be lifted and subsequently removed at a point of delivery without necessitating restacking, and the invention also seeks to provide a truck by which a. stack of containers may be moved without liability of the containers rolling from the truck and without employing false bottoms or platforms. These several stated objects and such other objects as will incidentally appear in the course of the followingdescription are attained in such a device as is illustrated .in the accompanying drawings and the invention resides in cer tain novel features which will be particularly set forth in the claims following the description.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a truck having our invention applied thereto and showing the same arranged to move a stack of baskets;

Fig. 2 is a similar view with removed;

Fig. 3 is plan view.

The truck frame comprises the usual side bars or handle members 1 connected by cross bars or braces 2 and equipped at their-lower ends with wheels or rolling" supports 3 of the usual form. in the use of our invention, we secure to the lower or forward ends of the side bars l, a cross plate or toe 4L which is rigidly secured to the ends of the side members and extends between the same, the said toe plate having a portion 5 projecting forwardly from the truck and provided with an arcuate edge 6 which is adapted to take under the bottom of the lowermost basket in a stack, as will be readily understood. The forwardly projecting portion 5 of the toe plate also furnishes a step hearing or supthe baskets Figs 1 and 2.

port for rock shafts '7 which are rotatably mounted 1n bearing brackets 8 secured to the side bars 1 near the lower ends thereof and in similar bearings 9 at the front ends of bearing arms 10 secured to and projecting forwardly from the side bars or handle members near the upper ends thereof, as shown. These bearing arms 10 are held against collapse or bending by braces 11 secured at their upperzends to the arms near the front ends thereof and at their lower ends to the side bars, as clearly shown in A cross bar or brace 12 extends between the'front ends of the bearing arms 10 in rear-of the bearings 9 thereon so as to further reinforce the structure. To the lower ends of the rock shafts 7, between the bearing lugs or brackets 8 and the forwardly projecting portion of the'toe plate, we secure the sleeve or hub members 13 of basket-supporting arms 14; which extend forwardly from the rock shafts and areof arcuate formation so that they will conform to the basketsor other circular containers. These supporting arms are also cupped, as shown at 15, so that their inner edges may readily pass under the bottom of .thelowermost basket and firmly engage and support the same. Above the bearings 9, we secure to the rock shafts the rearwardly projecting cranks l6 and to the rear ends of said cranks we. pivotally attachthe outer ends of links 17 which extend inwardly and have their inner ends pivot-ally engaged upon a common operating handle 18. The lower end of this handle plays in a longitudinal slot 19 in a guide plate 20 which is secured at its front end to the cross bar or bean'i 12 and has its rear end turned downwardly and secured to the upper cross bar 2 of the truck frame or to a central longitudinal brace 21 which may be employed, if desired.

It is thought the use and advantages of-our truck will bereadily understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. The baskets or other containers 22 are stacked one upon another, as shown in Fig. 1, and the truck rolled into position adjacent the stack. When brought into proper position relative to the stack of containers, the edge of the member 5 of the toe plate will readily enter the space between the floor of the warehouse, or the other fixed support upon which the stack of containers is resting, and the bottom of the lower container and the rock shafts will be disposed at the sides of the containers. If the handle 18 be then pushed forward, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3, the links 17 will act upon the cranks 16 so as to swing them outwardly thereby rocking the shafts 7 and causing the supporting arms 14 toswing to the bottom of the lowermost basket and the cupped edge 15 of the said arms to pass under the bottom of said basket. When the links 1.7 are brought into alinement, as shown in Fig. 8, they will act as a look to prevent accidental movement of the rock shafts and the stack of containers will be thereby firmly supported by the arms 14-. If the truck be then tilted about the rolling supports 3 in the usual manner, the stack of containers will be lifted and will rest upon the arms 14 and against the rock shafts, the rear portions of the eontainers passing slightly between the rock shafts so that as the truck is moved to the point of delivery the containers will be pre vented from rolling therefrom. Having reached the point of delivery, the truck is then swung forwardly so that the supporting arms 14 may rest upon the platform or the ground and the handle 18 is then drawn rearwardly so that the links 17 will be moved out of alinement and the cranks 16 swung inwardly thereby rocking the shafts 7 and withdrawing the arms 14 from beneath the stack of containers. The stack of containers will then, of course, rest directly upon the platform or ground and it will be readily seen that by the use of our invention a plurality of circular containers will be as easily handled as a single box of rectangular formation is now handled. While the truck is in motion, the containers will be firmly supported without any injury to them or to their contents and a large number of coin tainers may be quickly moved from a warehouse to a loading platform or other point without excessive labor and without loss through breaking or other damage to either the containers or their contents. Our invention may be readily applied to any ordinary hand truck now in common use with slight expense, and when in use, will be found highly ellicient for the purpose for which it is designed.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. The combination with a hand truck, of a pair of arcuate cupped supporting arms pivotallymounted upon the lower end of the truck, and means upon the truck for moving said arms into and out of engagement with a circular article.

2. The combination with a hand truck, of a toe plate secured to the lower end of the truck and having a forwardly projecting portion provided with an arcuateedge, a pair of arcuate supporting arms pivotally mounted upon the forwardly projecting portion of the toe plate, and means for moving said arms into engagement with an article.

3. The combination with a hand truck, of a pair of rock shafts mounted upon the truck at the sides of the same, means for rocking said shafts, and a pair of arcuate cupped supporting arms secured. to the lower ends of said shafts to fit under and partly around the sides of an article.

4. The combination with a hand truck, of a pair of rock shafts mountedupon the front of the truck at the sides of the same and er tending longitudinally thereof, forwardly projecting load supporting arms secured to the lower ends of said shafts, rearwardly projecting cranks secured to said shafts near their upper ends, links pivoted at their outer ends to said cranks, and a pivotal connection between the inner ends of said links constituting a handle for operating the same.

5. The combination with a hand truck, of a pair of rock shafts mounted on the truck at the sides of the same, a longitudinal uide plate carried on the truck at the upper end thereof between said shafts, supporting arms secured to the lower ends of the shafts, cranks secured to the upper ends of the shafts, links pivoted to said cranks, and a handle member having sliding engagement with the said guide plate and pivotally con necting the inner ends of said links. I

6. The combination with a hand truck, of bearing brackets secured to the sides of the truck near the lower end thereof, forwardly projecting arms secured to the sides of the truck near the upper ends thereof, a cross bar connecting said arms, rock shafts jour naled in the said arms and in the bearings at the lower end of the truck, supporting arms secured to the lower ends of the rock shafts, and a toggle mechanism connected to the upper ends of the rock shafts for operat .ing the same.

In testimony whereof we a'fiix our signatures.

LEE B. HAYES. [Ls] VERN W. KEMP. [Ls] 

